ESNDC Mission: To foster a safe, diverse and thriving neighborhood by engaging the community to create healthy, affordable housing and support commercial development.

How do we achieve our mission?

Our strategy is to work as a catalyst for new development on the East Side, including both commercial and housing development.

We play an important role in brokering relationships and convincing partners to converge on a shared development vision for key properties in the neighborhood.

Our goal is not only to attract new investment to the East Side, but also to engage residents – especially those who feel unheard – to lend their voice and ideas to our work. This is an important strategy to our staff at ESNDC to ensure that new investments will bring resources to the community without contributing to widespread gentrification and displacement of existing residents.

ESNDC believes that the success of a neighborhood goes hand in hand with the success of its commercial corridors. Starting a new business from the ground up is a difficult and daunting task. We help new and existing business owners in the East Side navigate the process by:

Providing education on government resources and other sources of funding.

Providing guidance throughout the grant application process.

Assisting with loan applications.

Leveraging our network of long-standing relationships with government agencies, business leaders, and other non-profits to advocate for new and existing business owners.